1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to prefabricated housing structures and more specifically to a prefabricatable housing structure which exhibits a high resistance to high winds such as produced by hurricanes and the like and which also exhibits sufficient structural rigidity to permit the structure to be transported by road from one site to another. More particularly, this invention relates to such a structure with an outer wall made from a continuous metal sheet, such as aluminum having only one vertical seam.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Relatively low cost housing such as mobile homes which are set up in trailer parks and the like, or structures such as temporary/emergency accommodations, hospitals and the like which are erected at or near disaster sites have suffered from the drawbacks that very little thought apparently has been given to making the structures resistant to very high winds. By way of example, in the case of mobile homes (that is, transportable house structures which are sufficiently large that they can be used as homes), it is often the case that the structure is mounted on a channel steel chassis-like arrangement and is towed to a site by a prime mover and then left sitting on the wheeled bogeys which were used to road transport the unit and/or set on a number of concrete or brick columns. The ends of the structure are usually tied down using steel cables or the like.
However, under these circumstances, the house structure usually tends to be propped up 2 to 3 feet above the level of the ground on which it is supported and therefore is in a position which allows the relatively unrestricted passage of high velocity winds beneath the structure. This of course means that large upwardly acting forces can be produced by the winds acting on the underside of the housing structure. Such forces place a large strain on the ties which are intended to tether the structure to the ground. Should the force or gusting of the wind or both which frequently accompanies strong storms, such as hurricanes, gales, tornados, and the like, loosen or disconnect the tethering, the structure can then be lifted off its supports or turned over or both. In either event, significant structural damage is inevitable and places the safety of any occupants in great jeopardy.
Even in the case where the tethering remains intact, either or both of the roof and side walls are apt to be torn off by the wind catching beneath overhanging or terminal edge portions of panels or sheets which form part of either the roof or side walls or both.
In the latter case, it is usual that if one external side wall panel or member of the housing structure can be lifted up and/or removed by the action of the wind, that is, the pneumatic pressure which acts on the relatively large surface of the inner sides of the side panel and therefore produce a large force, the structure is rendered so susceptible to "pneumatic erosion" to the degree that a snowball effect results, and the whole building is apt to be torn apart or badly destroyed. Once the building structure is compromised by the removal of a single exterior panel, the inner structure, which is never intended to be exposed to external influences and which is definitely not designed to withstand high velocity air flows, is then exposed and usually removed or damaged by the pneumatic forces. Hence, once one part of the house is removed, the remaining structure is usually left unprotected for ready penetration by the high velocity winds. The structure is therefore at the mercy of the storm and progressively undergoes severe damage.
It is therefore considered that there is a unfulfilled need for an economical housing structure: (1) which is sufficiently large so that it can be used as a home; (2) which is highly resistant to high winds such as produced by powerful storms; (3) which can be prefabricated, which is sufficiently light that it can moved either as a whole unit or in connectable segments, by road transport, to a site where it will be put into use; (4) which can very quickly set and connected in place; and (5) which has a unitary exterior sheet of metallic material acting as a substantially seamless outer wall.